I've Seen This Movie
by TappinCastlefan
Summary: Another take on the Season 2 finale. Can Kate and Rick find a happy ending? sorry about my summaries.


**Yet another post-finale one-shot! Here's the deal, this idea has been nagging me for about two weeks, and I finally got it finished. Woo hoo!**

**No suprise here: All characters are the property of ABC.**

**Enjoy!**

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Rain has this funny way of dulling the mood. It takes all your anger and frustration and blurs the outlines so that life isn't so disturbing. In a twisted sort of way, rain makes you feel better.

Rick Castle was grateful for the rain.

While he was in no mood to run out and dance in it, he was finding some solace in watching the droplets dance on the leaves of the tree outside his window.

How could he be so stupid?

He lie on the large master bed with his hands folded behind his head. His legs were sprawled across the bed, nothing on but a pair of worn, grey sweatpants. There was no energy or will left in him to move.

How could he have missed it?

Two weeks ago he had left the city to come here. One week ago he finished _Naked Heat_ and Gina left. Ever since, he had pretty much stayed in bed, only leaving it for vital purposes, such as food and bathroom breaks. His laptop and cell phone were perched on the bed beside him. The phone only moved when Alexis was on the other end of the call. His laptop, on the other hand, was getting quite a bit of use.

Rick constantly found himself searching his fan sites, reading his fans' speculation about his 'vacation'. For some odd reason he found their ideas entertaining. Some posed theories that he was suffering another bout of writer's block, hiding out in his Hamptons home to evade the press. Others alluded that he was in the middle of a romantic getaway with some woman or another. To Rick's dismay, one brave fan posted that he was spending time with his "muse".

Boy, was that guy off.

He checked his email almost every fifteen minutes. Anxious to hear from the boys – or Beckett. Although he knew that either one was a very, very unlikely possibility.

The rumbling in his stomach pulled him out of his thoughts for a moment. Now that he thought about it, he didn't remember the last time he had eaten anything. Swinging his feet around to the side of the bed, he ran his hands over his face, brushing as much exhaustion as he could from his eyes. Feeling the stubble on his cheeks, he realized that he wasn't sure of the last time he shaved either.

Slowly Rick made his way down the long hallway to the kitchen. It was so quiet and empty here. Although he had to admit, aside from his office this was his favorite room in the house. Not only did it have the food, but it also had a gorgeous view of the large front yard. Normal people liked views of the water or the beach in their kitchen, but he surely wasn't 'normal people'.

He always loved being able to see guests arriving when he was in the kitchen. It made the house; even though it was a vacation house, feel like a real home.

Looking up from the bowl of grapes rinsing in the sink, Rick found his mind wandering to the rain again. Through the waterfall on the window he could still see the driveway.

And there was a car in it.

Odd. He wasn't expecting a single soul. And who would want to drive all the way here in a torrential downpour?

He inched his face closer to the glass and craned his neck to the right, trying to see if someone was waiting at his front door. Instead, all he could see was a pair feet, covered in brown high-heeled boots, stretching out from the porch swing. Without giving it a second thought he turned off the running faucet and made his way to the front door.

Opening the door Rick instantly felt the rush of cold air strike his bare chest. The rain was still coming down in sheets, and edge of the porch deck was beginning to flood. He'd have to have that taken care of.

Quietly he leaned his hands on the frame of the door and leaned out to find none other than Detective Kate Beckett sitting on his swing. Her arms were folded across her chest and she was starting blankly out at the crying sky.

As gently as he could he shut the door behind himself, and made his way over to sit next to her.

For what seemed like hours, neither said a word. They both knew the other was there. How could they not?

Finally, the silence was broken.

"I've seen this movie."

"What?" Rick asked. He could barely hear her hushed voice above the storm.

"I've seen this movie," she said as she folded her legs up under herself. "The one where the girl drops everything to run after the boy. The one where the plot is so childishly absurd to suggest that love could do that to a person. Make them forget everything else in the world except for that one…person."

Rick didn't say anything. He heard her let out a very long breath.

"My friends always used to take me to see it in high school."

A lull fell over the pair again.

"I always hated this movie."

Rick decided to pull his own legs up onto the swing and turn to face her. He studied her face as she watched the rain. It just couldn't let up, could it? She was deep in thought. That much he was certain of. Her brow furrowed just a bit between her eyes, evidence of her focus. But he couldn't miss the bags underneath her eyes either, or the lines stretching out from them. He wasn't sure if it was just the cloud cover or not, but Rick thought she looked a little too pale.

"I don't think - I don't know why I'm here, Castle. I just got in the car and drove."

Sighing, he stretched his arm over the back of the swing, leaned his head on it, and waited for her to turn her face in his direction. He almost couldn't retain his smile when she did.

"I love those kinds of movies." She just continued to look at him. Almost through him. "Always have. Always will."

Carefully she angled the rest of her body to face him. "Why?" She whispered.

"Oh, I don't know. They always have a sort of magical quality to them. Sure you've got your basic romance in the end, but the lovers are put to the test. They overcome obstacles and hardship to achieve their happiness. In Renaissance stories it's the knight slaying a dragon to rescue the damsel in distress. With Shakespeare it's Juliet defying her family to run off with Romeo." For a little more than a second he paused.

"Regardless of the filler, there's always a happy ending."

The two turned back to the pouring water simultaneously.

"Well, in my line of work sometimes I forget that."

"Doesn't look like you forgot to me."

Kate's eyes shifted to silently question him.

"Do you, _Kate_, not Detective Beckett, believe in happy endings?"

"What?"

"It was a simple question. Do you believe in happy endings?"

Kate placed her feet firmly back on the ground, rested her elbows on her knees, cradling her chin in her hands. She didn't know how to answer his question. Deep down she knew she should believe in happy endings, maybe even did. But it was so hard to let her head think that. Too many horrid things had happened to her to make that an easy move.

"I think you do." Even though she was lost in her thoughts, Kate heard his words, and turned her head ever so slightly to encourage an explanation.

"Yes," he started, "here you are, sitting on my porch in the pouring rain, but you say you don't know why. From my experience, Kate Beckett never does anything without knowing why. You always know just what to do, and you always do it perfectly."

"Screwed up this time though," she mumbled into her hands.

" Even though your head is telling you it's unsure, your heart is right. The heart is always right."

"Castle-"

"And that, Kate, is why you're here. Because your heart believes in happy endings."

"Castle, I don't know what to say to you. I screwed up. Big time."

"We both screwed up," he interrupted.

"I should have told you. I shouldn't have just let you leave like that."

"And I shouldn't have left."

"I should have called you."

"I should have called you."

"Castle, would you let me finish!"

He made a motion of zipping his lips shut and throwing away the key.

"I didn't know what to do, so I…didn't do anything. And for the last two weeks I haven't been able to think straight. I finally just grabbed my keys, got in the car and drove." She was staring at his chest as she spoke. Not because it was uncovered, although that didn't hurt, but because she couldn't bear to look him in the eyes.

"I had no idea if you'd be here, or if you'd be alone. I didn't care, I just…needed to come. And I never, ever, do things like this." She took in as much oxygen as her lungs would allow as she pulled her lower lip between her teeth.

"But," she sighed, "when I got here I couldn't bring myself to knock. So, here I am, sitting on your porch, feeling like I'm stuck in a bad movie."

Gently, Rick reached out and tipped her chin up to face him. Looking in her eyes he felt every bit as terrible as her. She was in pain, because of him. She went completely out of her comfort zone, because of him.

He had to make it up to her.

"You have no idea, Kate, how happy I am to hear you say that."

"What?" Instantly she pulled back from his touch. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Kate," he grabbed at the sides of her arms with all he had and pulled her closer to him on the bench. "I've been sitting here for the past two weeks feeling the same thing. Starting out of that window up there, wondering what you were doing. Only, you're a far better person than I, because I've been too scared to call you, or text you, or come back to the city."

"Castle, I-"

"No," he said pressing a finger to her lips, "now it's your turn to let me finish. I know you believe in happy endings, otherwise you wouldn't be here." He let hands slide down her arms, took her hands in them. "Let me give you a happy ending."

Kate opened her mouth to speak, but the words wouldn't come out. Before she knew what was happening to her she was in his lap, and their mouths were crashing together.

"Is that a yes?" He whispered to her, unsure of what she would do.

Breathing heavily, she leaned her forehead to his, taking his face in her hands.

"Yes."

A blind man would have been able to see the grin that spread across his face. And if she hadn't seen it for herself, Kate wouldn't believe that an actual ear-to-ear smile was possible. She couldn't help but giggle at his reaction.

In what was barely a second he had stood from the swing and had her in his arms.

Kate struggled with a threat through her laughter. It seemed rather empty, considering she was laughing so hard that she couldn't move. Her arms wrapped tightly around his neck.

"Castle! Put me down!"

"Not a chance, Detective. Now that I have you, I am never going to let you down again."

"You see," he said to her as he carried her through the doorway, "this is why I love this movie."

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**Well, there you have it! Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think!**

**Tappin.**


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